Over the last year or so I have been collecting autograph stories from friends, family and work colleagues (Phil has submitted a story as has Camraman).It has been a very pleasureable experience listening to/reading the 50 tales I have received.
Of course, I am having no luck with publishers or agents and I receive rejection letters on a regular basis. But, the project was fun to do, so I cling on to that thought as I tear open the envelopes.
Here is a story about Bob Dylan, it is one of my favourites, I hope you like it.
Dylan
I owned everything by Dylan and last saw him in 1967 at Manchester Free Trade Hall. Now I had the chance to see him again and if I was lucky, meet him.
I was a policeman in my early twenties, I think it was 1976, when Dylan played three or four nights at Earls Court. Dylan was on form around this time having released Desire and Street Legal. I was based at Notting Hill Police Station but for big concerts or demos worked with other policemen from all over London in what were called “Serials”, these were units of about 20 to 30 policemen.
I had worked at Earls Court a few times and seen Elton John, The Rolling and Queen all play there. But Dylan was different, I wanted to try and get to him.
I managed to catch bits of Dylan’s concert in the first two days but I was mostly involved in traffic duty and crowd patrol. The crowds were so bad in Warwick Road just opposite the venue, that I didn’t get an opportunity to see too much of the concert. But on the fourth night I managed to swap duties with another colleague who knew how much I loved Dylan.
I knew the venue quite well and had access to most areas so after the concert I went to see if I could catch a glimpse of Dylan backstage. When I got there I found lots of fans gathered around the stage door. Not having a valid reason to push through them all and worried that I might be caught by my Guvnor I decided to wait and see if the great man emerged.
After a short while a roadie came out to where we were gathered and people handed him various items for Dylan to sign. As fans handed him scraps of paper and programmes I realised the only thing I had on me was my police pocket book. I handed it over (I think I folded it over to a blank page in the middle). The man walked off towards a room where we could see Dylan sitting at a long table. He gave Dylan the bundle of bits and pieces to sign and Dylan signed the lot. (People say Dylan is aloof and doesn’t like to engage with his fans, but I never really believed that so it was nice to see him doing his bit for his fans).
I got my pocketbook back, looked at the signature and felt thrilled. I quickly put it in my pocket and rushed back to where I should have been stationed.
About 6 months later I was in Knightsbridge Crown Court (which is no longer there) giving evidence in a case that involved a drink driver I had arrested. The man had been too drunk to breathalyse and under section 15 (or 16) I was able to arrest him without breathalysing him. He also had an offensive weapon in his car, I think it was a sword. (NB Back then drink driving cases these went to Crown Court).
I was questioned by the Prosecution and the case was clear cut. Grasping at straws the solicitor for the defendant looked at my statement and then asked to see my pocket book (which was quite an unusual request in such cases). He pointed out that there was a page missing and he wanted to know why. I was shocked, I nearly said I didn’t know why it was missing and then I remembered. The Dylan autograph!
The judge (or the Recorder) sniggered when I explained why the page was missing. The judge decided that I couldn’t have made it all up and accepted my explanation, he said the matter was now left up to me and my superior officer to discuss.
The verdict: Guilty.
(Extract from the unlikely to be published - You can't sign a coconut by The Quiet Busker)
Comments
By the way, I have a love-hate attitude to Dylan and wrote about it here. If you are a Dylan fan, look away now:
http://xuitlacoche.blogspot.com/2007/05/betraying-dylan.html
http://xuitlacoche.blogspot.com/2009/09/authors-are-mediums.html
Phil - he had ripped the page out as it had the signature on it.
I wonder if the man recognised Dylan's "poderoso". That's the nickname for signature in Mexico.
"channelled the powerful waters of social movements into the stagnant middle class back waters of half baked philosophical introversion using their ability to divert with language."
I'm sorry, those waters were not powerful and they were heading down the pisshole, anyway.
Dylan did us all a favour, much like Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, or Andy Fairweather-Low, and many other arseholes one could easily mention. He exposed the whole scene. Lucky me, I noticed in time that the best minds of my generation were rotting, joined the Party, and escaped.
But they were powerful waters. What's your opinion of CL James and his views on Stokely Carmichael and what he saw as the potential for black militants to become politicised and get beyond black racism.
What do you know about the Poco uprising Dom. I have some stuff of Dad's I am going to post on Xuitlacoche, or here if people want. Perhaps you could give us a good analysis of what happened. I have read various accounts where people criticise the Poco uprising for having triggered 90 day detention without trial.
I know dad was banned for his reporting on that.
As for collecting signatures and tokens of famous people, I think Paul's idea is a good one because it reveals a lot about what the person seeking the signature values.
The contrast, that a policeman was seeking the autograph of a counter culture figure.
When you see the policement lined up against the miners in the miner's strike you can't help but feel that they probably have a very similar class background. Or when you read the story of the October revolution and you see how the soldiers turned on their officers and joined in the revolution.
I always wonder what policemen (and former policemen) think about when they are asked to slap down people similar to themselves. Is there a feeling of that you want to hand in your truncheon and retrain as a teacher or a fireman. Or is it all adrenalin and camaraderie.
I wonder.
If you type "Stamp out Terrorism" your blog ranks near the top of Google.
Guys and gals, consider your titles and what you write carefully because you WILL be Googled and Ars Notoria is gaining momentum.
Even when the commenting is quiet.
Phil, I don't think you can bounce, play or spook a population into doing the right revolutionary thing. I think it's always a matter of hard, organising grind.
I don't know much about Poqo - the PAC-inspired events that followed Sharpeville, especially in the Cape. I was also quite young in those days, and I was not in SA. But you can see that the PAC didn't have the organisation. Poqo was a 9-days' wonder.
I think the PAC has packed up altogether, now.
Does Costa know about this blog, Phil? He would be the one to ask about the PAC.